Car-coupling



(No Model.) J. P. KOONTZ.

GAR COUPLING. No. 328,040. Patented Oct. 13, 1885 1.7V VEJV TOR W .dttorneyd UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BETTER KOONTZ, OF ST. LOUISVILLE, OHIO.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 328,040, dated October 13, 1885, Application filed August It, 1885. Serial No. 174,005. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN P. KOONTZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louisville, in the county of Licking and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gar-Couplings, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in car-couplings; and the novelty consistsin the peculiar construction, combination, arrangement, and adaptation of the various parts for service, substantially as hereinafter fully set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide a coupling which automatically couples the cars when they come together, to obviate the danger and objectionof the pin and. link becoming detached and lost, and to provide a coupling of the class named which shall combine great simplicity, strength, and durability of construction, with cheapness of manufacture and efiiciency'in operation.

I have shown an embodiment of myinvention in the accompanying drawings,in which Figure l is a perspective view of a car-coupling with my improvements applied thereto, showing the draw-heads detached from the car and in their proper relative positions when coupled together. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view thereof on the line 00 w of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of the draw-heads with the pin and link set for coupling, showing in dotted lines the position of the pin and link partially thrown down after having been acted upon by the link of the meeting car. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the link and pin.

Like letters of reference in the several drawings denote corresponding parts.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A A designate the draw-heads, which are of the ordinary well-known construction, each drawhead being secured to one of the cars and being substantially alike in their construction. The draw-head is provided with the usual rounded projecting flanges or faces, a, and the linkchamber A A The upper wall or ceiling of the draw-head chamber A is provided at its front end, immediately in rear of the upper rounded face, a, with a series of recesses or slots, B B B, having rounded ends I) and inrounded ends of the middle recess snugly, to

prevent any lateral play, and yet allow the pin to slide up and down without undue friction and wear. The bottom or lower wall of the draw-head chamber is provided with a slot, 0, arranged or formed therein immediately beneath the pin-recess B, through which the lower end of the pin passes. In rear of the recess Othe bottom is cut away, as at C, and is separated therefrom by an intervening solid portion, 0 for a purpose presently described.

E designates the link, having the usual common formt. e'., longitudinal side bars, 6 e, and crossbars ee,connecting the side bars together at their endssaid link being pivotally connected to the pin D at one of its ends, the end bar being passed through an opening, d, in the middle of the coupling-pin D. The link E is arranged to project beyond the lower end of the coupling-pin, to which it is pivoted, when the pin is held in its elevated position in the draw'head, and the side bars thereof fit in the recesses B, in which they are adapted to move when the pin is operated on by the approaching coupling.

The operation of my invention is as follows: To couple the cars, one of the cars has the pin thrown down in its closed position, and the link projected beyond the ends of the drawhead, as shown in Fig. 2, the pin occupying a vertical position and the link a horizontal one, resting upon the bottom of the draw-head chamber to support the pin in position. The opposite draw-head has its link arranged in alignment or a little out of true with the coupling-pin, the lower cross-bar of said link resting on the bottom of the draw-head chamber and holding the pin elevated above said bottom and out of engagement with the lower recess, the side bars and pin fitting in the recess B B, as shown. When the approaching link of the car comes in contact with or strikes against the coupling-link which has been set or elevated, as above described, said link is forced backward until its lower end strikes the forward edge of the cut-away portion 0, when the preponderance of weight of the descending coupling-pin forces the link into a be made without departing from the princij for rope to secure the device to a car.

ple or sacrificing the advantages of my invention, the essential featureso'f whichwill be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connect-ion with the draw- 1ngs.. 7

Each end of the coupling-pin may be provided with an opening for attaching a chain The pin and link being pivotally connected together, there is no danger of their becoming detached and separated, and they can be used end for end or reversibly, the link turning or -moving freely over the ends of the pin.

'Myimproved carcoupling is simple, strong, and durable in construction, efficient and automatic in operation,and combines all the ad vantages heretofore secured by car-couplings of the class to which the present invention relates. The pin is heavier than the link, and the latter is housed in the drawheads.

In order to define the nature and scope of my invention, I would state that heretofore it has been proposed to provide a car-coupling link with a sliding block pivotally connected thereto and adapted to movein grooves in the draw-head, a separate pin being employed to couple or engage the link of the adjacent car.

My invention differs from this construction inthe fact that my-coupling pin and link are pivotally connected together, and the link is adapted to hold or set the pin in an elevated position for coupling, whereby when the link of one car is struck by the link of the approaching car said'link will be pushed within the draw-head and the pin drop down to engage the approaching link.

Having thus fully described my invention, whatlclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- 1 1. The conibinatiomwith the recessed drawheads, of acoupling-pin, and a link pivotally connected to the pin and adaptedto support the pin in its elevated position, substantially as described. i

2. The combination, in a-car-coupling, of a draw-head havinga series of recesses, a coup ling p'in fitted in one of the recesses, and a coupling-link pivotally connected to the pin and adapted to hold the pin in an elevated position, the linkfitting in recesses on either side of the pin and adapted to be housed within the draw-head chamber when acted on by the approaching car, substantially as described. i I

3. In a car-coupling, the combination of the draw-head having recesses B B0 and a cutaway portion, O, and a reversible pin and link pivotally connected together and adapted to fit in the recesses when in their elevated position, substantially as described.

- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN PETTER KOONTZ.

Witnesses:

Grills. H. FOLLETT, SILAs SHnocK. 

